Northern Nigeria Voice Movement, a newly formed group working on protecting and promoting the interest of the northern Nigerian region has expresses concern regarding the arrest and persecution of opposition politicians in the country.
The group expressed this concern in a press release on Wednesday, signed by Abubakar Haruna Muhammad, the group lead.
Muhammad described the act as ‘a systematic and politically motivated persecution of opposition leaders from the North’ by federal anti-corruption agencies.
The group condemned the continued use of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) as instruments of political intimidation, warning that the nation is being quietly transformed into a police state under the guise of anti-corruption enforcement.
“The ongoing trials of northern politicians cannot be divorced from political reality. What we are witnessing is no longer about accountability; it is about the systematic silencing of opposition voices,” the group said.
The Movement cited recent cases involving prominent northern politicians as evidence of a calculated pattern.
Former Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasiru El-Rufai, and former Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, SAN, have both been subjected to sustained investigations and legal scrutiny following their political disagreements with the ruling party.
Previously, former Sokoto State Governor and current opposition figure, Aminu Tambuwal, also faced similar institutional pressure after his political alignment shifted.
“These are not isolated incidents. They form a clear trajectory—opposition leaders are being policed as though this country were a police state. Those who dare to speak are made to shuttle between courts and detention centers week after week. The rest remain silenced by fear,” the statement added.
The Movement further argued that the ruling party, which already controls over 30 states and a supermajority in the National Assembly, has no justification for deploying state agencies against political opponents.
“The 2027 elections are being tactically rigged right now—not at polling units, but through judicial gymnastics and selective prosecutions. The opposition is being systematically stripped of its leaders, its time, and its capacity to organize. This is not democracy; this is authoritarianism by legal technicality,” the group warned.
The Northern Nigeria Voice Movement called on the federal government to immediately end these political persecutions and allow the nation’s anti-corruption agencies to focus on their statutory mandates without partisan interference.
“The stability of our polity and the integrity of our democratic processes are at stake. Good governance must be allowed to take precedence over political vendettas. We cannot afford to set a precedent where state institutions are weaponized against citizens for their political choices,” the statement concluded.
The group urged civil society organizations, the international community, and well-meaning Nigerians to speak out against the growing threat to democratic governance in the country.
